Netball: Competition hot for Mystics as new recruits arrive

The start of the transtasman league is still three months away, but the competition for places in the Northern Mystics' starting line is already red hot.

The Mystics kicked off their pre-season training last week, with the full squad assembling in Auckland for the first time following the arrival of new recruits English international Jade Clarke and former Tactix defender Charlotte Kight.

The pair are the only new faces to the side which finished runner-up in last year's competition, while Portia Woodman has been elevated to a fulltime role in the squad after providing injury cover last season.

With Woodman and Clarke considered "defensive" midcourters and Kight also hoping to establish herself as a wing defence, coach Debbie Fuller is faced with an overload of talent in the defensive end.

While Fuller certainly won't be complaining about her deep defensive resources, you've got to wonder how long the players will be happy with the arrangement.

Kight was the last player signed to the Mystics roster this year after taking some time to weigh up her options.

Over the past 18 months Kight went from being on the brink of Silver Ferns selection to being dropped from the New Zealand squad altogether.

The selectors advised Kight that if she was to win her place back in the national team she needed to play further up the court, prompting her to move away from the Tactix where she played predominantly at goal-keep.